A few systems have been proposed to protect, guide and support standard pin arrays used to connect to circuit boards in a stacked arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,387 to Zell discloses a pin header assembly which provides shrouded protection for a pin array used to connect two circuit boards. The shroud of the device of Zell is made of two pieces. Leg means 20, 22 of a first and second member 10, 12 are used to attach the first member and a second member together and to a printed circuit board 64 having pins 66 therethrough. However, the device of Zell has a large footprint, and, therefore, electrical connectors using the device of Zell require more room. Additionally, the device of Zell does not include an alignment pin to increase the lead-in length for aligning the connectors when making a blind connection. Not using an alignment pin also causes the pins themselves to be used for alignment of the connectors, and, therefore, may cause the pins to inadvertently bend or become damaged. Finally, the device of Zell does not use standard pin arrays, but rather requires a particular pin array which includes the two bores 68, 70.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,526 to Hillbish et al. discloses a shielded stacking electrical connector assembly. The assembly allows stacking of two or more circuit boards on a single connector assembly that extends through each board. However, the device of Hillbish also has the problems identified above in the Zell reference, such as lack of at least the following: a shroud covering the pin array to protect from damage and inadvertent electrical contact, an alignment pin for alignment of the connectors, and the use of standard pin arrays with the connector. Additionally, the device of Hillbish does not allow the manual removal of the pin array from the connector or shroud in order to replace the pin array. In order to replace a damaged pin array of Hillbish, the entire device must be unsoldered from the circuit board.
Therefore, there is a need in the connector industry to provide a shroud for standard pin arrays which provides better protection, better alignment when mating with other circuit boards, complete encapsulation of the pin array, and use of standard pin arrays which are not soldered to the circuit and can be removed manually. The present invention is provided to solve these and other problems.